Special Thanksgiving Recipes

Squash Casserole

Serves 6

Ingredients:

4 cups squash, peeled, seeded and cubed

1 large onion, chopped

1 1/2 tbsp. flour

1/2 cup milk

1-2 tbsp. water

1/2 tsp. worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup cracker crumbs

dash of pepper

2 tbsp. butter

paprika

Preheat oven to 350-F degrees.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook squash and onion in small amount of water until tender. Drain.

Add flour, milk, half stick of butter, water, worch. sause, salt, pepper, and mix well.

Pour into buttered 1 1/2 qt. casserole dish. Top with cracker crumbs sauteed in 2 tbsp. butter. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake in 350 degree oven until hot, about 30 min. will freeze.




Pumpkin Biscuits

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/2 cup milk, scalded

1/2 cup cooked pumpkin

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup Butter or Margarine

1.4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 yeast cake

1/4 cup Water; 110-F degrees

2 1/2 cups flour

Pre-heat oven to 375-F Degrees.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring the milk just to a scld. Remove from the heat and add the pumpkin, sugar, salt,butter, and nutmeg. Stir thoroughly with a wooden spoon to combine all ingred. Return to saucepan to the heat if necessary to melt the butter.

Menwhile, disolve the yeast in the warm water. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. When the pumpkin mixture has cooled slightly, ss the yeast water and pumpkin mixture to the flour and stir with a wooden spoon or mix with your hands to thourghly blend all ingred. Cover the dough with a clean towel and set aside to rise overnight.

Roll out the pumpkin dough on lightly floured surface nd cut or shape into about 18 biscuits on a baking sheet and allow time to rise again, until doubled in bulk. This usually takes an hour.

Pre-het oven to 375-f degrees and bke the biscuits until browned. Bking time veries withthe density of your dough, so start checking after about 8-10 min.

Serve warm with butter. Store in an air tight container up to a week or can freeze up to a month and just reheat them up.


Creamy Reduced-Fat Mashed Potatoes

Serves 12

Ingredients:

4 1/2 pounds Russet Potatoes, peeled and cut into uniform pieces

3 Tbs. Olive or Canola Oil

3/4 cup Low-fat Sour Cream or Plain Non-fat Yogurt

3/8 tsp. Salt

3/8 tsp. freshly ground Black Pepper

1 cup reserved liquid from boiled potatoes

Place the potatoes in a large cooking pot and cover with lightly salted water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and boil for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are very tender. Drain the potatoes, making sure to reserve about 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Either pass the potatoes through a ricer or mash them in the original cooking pot. Stir in the oil, sour cream, salt, and pepper until well blended. Mash or rice again, gradually stirring in some of the reserved cooking liquid, until the potatoes are creamy and smooth. Serve warm.


Roast Turkey with Orange-Rice Stuffing

Serves 12

Ingredients:

1 12-lb. whole Turkey

Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper

1 cup Butter or Margarine

1 cup Onion, chopped

4 cups Water

1 cup Orange Juice

3 Tbs. grated Orange Rind

4 cups Celery, chopped

2 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Poultry Seasoning

5 1/3 cup pre-cooked Rice

1/2 cup fresh Parsley, chopped

Pat the whole turkey cavity dry with paper towels, but make sure the outside of the turkey stays moist. Sprinkle the cavity with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter or margarine over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté until tender, but not yet browned. Add water, orange juice, orange rind, celery, the 2 tsp. salt, and poultry seasoning. Bring the mixture to a boil and add the rice. Cover, and remove from the heat source. Let stand for about 5 minutes, until the rice has finished cooking and absorbed most of the liquid. Stir in the chopped parsley with a fork, fluffing the rice as you mix in the fresh herb.

Stuff the neck and body cavity of the whole turkey with the rice. Skewer the neck skin to the body of the turkey to seal the front. Lift the legs of the turkey slightly and bind with kitchen twine to hold, making sure the loose skin at the back of the turkey covers the cavity with the rice. Skewer the back side to hold the rice firm, if necessary.

Place whole turkey, breast side up, in a shallow roasting pan. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake at 325-F degrees for about 4 hours and 30 minutes, or until a meat thermometer attains 180-F degrees in the thickest part of the turkey.

Make sure to check the turkey about every half hour and baste as necessary. Remove the foil tent during the last half-hour of oven roasting to produce a golden skin. You may elect to baste with a mixture of melted butter and orange juice for an evenly crisp and golden presentation.

Let stand for 15 to 20 minutes after removing the whole turkey from the oven, for easier carving. Carve and serve warm.

Roast Turkey with Pan Gravy

Serves 12

Ingredients:

1 12- to 14-lb. fresh or frozen Turkey, thawed if necessary

1 1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. freshly ground Black Pepper

Fresh Herbs for garnish

2 Tbs. All-purpose Flour 1/2 tsp. Salt

Preheat oven to 325-F degrees. Remove giblets and neck from the turkey and reserve for preparing gravy. Rinse turkey with cold running water, and drain well.

Fasten the neck skin to the back with 1 or 2 skewers. With breast side up, fold the wings under the back of turkey so they stay in place. Bind the legs with kitchen twine or push the drumsticks under the end band of skin, or use a stuffing clamp.

Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a large roasting pan. Rub turkey all over with salt and pepper. Loosely cover the turkey with a foil tent. Insert a meat thermometer through foil into thickest part of the thigh next to body, being careful that pointed end of thermometer does not touch the bone. Roast the turkey for about 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Begin checking for doneness during last hour of roasting.

To brown turkey, remove the foil tent during final hour of roasting time, and baste occasionally with the pan drippings. The turkey is ready when the thigh temperature reaches 180 to 185-F degrees on the meat thermometer, and the drumstick feels soft when pressed with freshly cleaned fingers protected by paper towels. The breast temperature should be 170 to 175-F degrees.

When turkey is finished, place it whole on a warmed platter. Keep it warm with a fresh tent of aluminum foil and prepare to carve at the dinner table. To serve, garnish platter with fresh herbs and grapes. Serve with gravy.

Meanwhile, during the last 2 hours the turkey is roasting, prepare the giblets and neck for use in pan gravy. In 3-quart saucepan over high heat, warm the gizzard, heart, and neck in enough water to cover the giblets, and bring to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 45 minutes. Add liver and simmer an additional 15 minutes. Drain, reserving broth. Pull the meat from neck and discard bones. Coarsely chop the neck meat and giblets. Cover and refrigerate meat and broth separately.

To prepare the gravy, remove the rack from roasting pan. Pour pan drippings through a sieve or fine strainer into a 4-cup measure or medium bowl. Add 1 cup of the giblet broth to the roasting pan and stir until brown bits are loosened; pour into drippings in the measuring cup or bowl.

Let stand a few seconds, until the fat separates from the meat juice. Spoon 2 tablespoons of fat from the drippings into a 2-quart saucepan. Skim and discard any remaining fat. Add remaining giblet broth and enough water to meat juice in measuring cup to attain 3 cups.

Stir 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt into the fat in the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring, until flour turns golden brown. Gradually stir in meat-juice mixture and cook, stirring, until gravy boils and thickens slightly. Stir in reserved giblets and neck meat; heat through. Pour gravy into gravy boat and serve warm with the whole turkey.